


A Place To Call Home

by PsychicTrashWhispers



Series: Home [1]
Category: Longmire (TV), The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: AU, Crossover, F/F, Femslash, Mystery, Slow Burn, Suspense, TV needs more gay, The AU no one asked for, Western-ish, the crossover no one asked for
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-01-02
Updated: 2018-03-27
Packaged: 2019-02-27 05:33:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 16,781
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13241502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PsychicTrashWhispers/pseuds/PsychicTrashWhispers
Summary: After a personal tragedy, Officer Tara Chambler, a transplant from Atlanta, is the newest deputy in Absaroka County. On a routine patrol she and Vic stumble onto a lead to a cold case. A lead in the form of young woman named Beth Greene, who is about to turn Tara's life upside down both personally and professionally.





	1. Lost And Found

**Author's Note:**

> I've re-written this chapter more times than I can count. It's my first fanfiction and it's been in the works for almost three years. I really hope there are some other Tara/Beth shippers out there who can enjoy this as much as I've enjoyed writing it. I want to note, that I've used some details from the Longmire books, that are not included in the show, but this is still very show-centric as far as story and character. For example, Vic in my story will curse a lot more than she does in show, but will remain the character portrayed in the show.

             Cow shit. A smell that Tara Chambler never wanted to smell again, especially not on the scorching June day it was. She shoved her right hand against her nose and glared at her partner in the driver’s seat. “Can’t we roll up the windows and just die of heat exposure?”

       Vic Moretti, Tara’s current tormentor, chauffeur, and colleague, barked out a laugh. “Just don’t breathe through your nose and that’s a no on the windows.”

       “You’re a cruel woman, Vic.” Tara shot an eyeroll at the other woman. “I like this town, just not the local livestock.”

       Vic snorted, this time her blond ponytail followed the tossing motion her head made as she laughed. “Wait til you get Walt on one of his bad days, then the cows seem friggin’ pleasant.”

      “Nah, he’s always grumpy around me. I think being a lesbian doesn’t exactly get me any brownie points in the small town landscape.” She said around her currently occupied hand.

      Now Vic’s entire upper half began shaking with mirth. “Oh no, honey. That’s actually your high point. It means you won’t be fall for Branch’s lack of charm.”

      “Oh eeeeewww…..” Tara’s face twisted in disgust, momentarily forgetting to cover her nose. Getting a whiff of the aforementioned cow leftovers, brought even more twist to her grimace. “Please tell me that smarmy charm does not work on straight women.”

     “Not on me, that’s for fucking sure. But, I know for a—” Suddenly, Vic slammed on the brakes, throwing Tara’s body forward into her seatbelt.

      “What the hell, Vic!?” Tara turned her full attention to the woman in the driver’s seat. Subsequently, she noticed that Vic wasn’t even acknowledging her question, instead she was staring out the window to their left.

      Following her line of sight, she saw what had captured the woman’s attention.

      It was a tan station wagon, likely an early 90’s model, sitting at a forty-five degree angle from the yellow line in the road. All four doors were open, the rear tire on the driver’s side was in shreds, and smears of what could only be blood were all over the driver’s side window.

      Almost in unison, Vic and Tara clicked open their seatbelts and got out of their own vehicle, weapons drawn. Vic bobbed her head to the left, a signal for Tara to advance on the passenger side of the car and cover her. Tara moved into place and watched out the corner of her eye as her partner crept up to the driver’s seat.

      “This is the Absaroka Sheriff's department, come out with your hands where I can see ‘em.” Vic’s voice cut through the pungent, dry air.

     No answer. Vic side-stepped the open door and peered inside, her weapon still drawn. She quickly checked the backseat too. “Nothing. I’m gonna radio this in and have Ferg run the plates. Don’t touch _anything_ that might be evidence.” She holstered her glock and jogged back to their vehicle.

  Tara lowered her own weapon an inch or two and called back. “I’m new, not stupid!” That’s when she spotted a small movement from the underneath the car. Her arms sprang back up into place. An arm bandaged in white gauze flopped onto the asphalt in front of the rear passenger side tire.

      “Vic! There’s someone under the car!” Tara shouted as she approached the vehicle again.

      “Shit! Of course, it’s the one place I didn’t fucking check.” She could hear Ferg’s distinct tone that he used only for exclamations of worry over the crackly radio static and then her partner’s very terse “No! I wasn’t talking to you.”

     Tara knelt down onto the asphalt to assess the situation. She found a petite, blonde young woman, maybe 18-20 years old, dressed in tattered jeans and a gray sweater lying flat on her back, limbs akimbo. It looked like she was unconscious, and from the movement Tara had spotted earlier, that was probably true. From what she could see, the young woman only had two major injuries, her bandaged right arm and a small gash on her forehead. But, there was nothing substantial enough to account for the blood on the car.

       She figured the unconscious woman wasn’t a threat and put away her glock. With a tentative hand, she tapped the woman’s shoulder “Can you hear me? Are you okay?”

      There was no response, not even a small movement like before. She placed two fingers against the side of the woman’s neck. A feathery beat met her there.

      “I’ve got a pulse!” She called back to Vic. Suddenly, the girl stirred, her bandaged arm coming up off the ground, bumping into the car’s underside along the way.

      “Whoa! Don’t move.” Tara softly pushed the arm back down and she was met with a pained groan “Help is on the way, okay?”

      The wailing sirens in the distance and tinny static from the radio proved her words true

      “Hey, Chambler!” Vic, didn’t even wait for an answer, before saying. “They’ve been looking for this car since 2007. It belongs to a murdered man from Durant.”


	2. Waking Up

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I didn't realize until yesterday that I'd made a mistake in the first chapter. I had Vic say she was from the "Absaroka PD" when it should have been "Absaroka Sheriff's department". I'll try to change it when I figure out had to edit something I've already published.

**_One Year Earlier_ **

_It hurt to move, and all she wanted to do was sleep. But, the horrific memories of bloody limbs and cold corpses would not leave her. In an attempt to chase the unbidden images away, she opened her eyes._

_She wished she hadn’t._

_She was in a dark, dank basement-like room that smelled like iron and mildew. Four filthy cots lined the wall to her left. An even grimier sink and shower stall were installed into the wall in front of her. She closed her eyes again._

_“Sweetie, I need you to open your eyes for me.” The voice was hoarse, but kindly. It sounded like a woman. “Sweetie, I need to know how hurt you are before he comes back.”_

_Who? Who’s he? She opened her eyes and searched out the voice. She saw an older woman with blond, curly hair and dressed in jeans and a white turtleneck. The woman smiled at her, but the smile didn’t reach her eyes._

_“It hurts to move.” She answered, her own voice hoarse._

_“Nothing broken, right?” The woman seemed to be doing her own check as she asked._

_“No, I don’t—” She was interrupted by loud footsteps above them._

_“Quickly, get up!” The woman grabbed her arms and helped her scramble to her feet. “Get on a cot and pretend to be asleep. Don’t get up until I tell you!”_

_“Why?” She asked, clambering onto the nearest cot._

_“Because he’ll kill you if you don’t play the part right.”_

_~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~_

             Sherriff Walter Longmire did not like hospitals. He’d been in one too many of them as both patient and visitor to find them palatable. While Washington Memorial Hospital was not the worst Wyoming had to offer, it was still not the easiest place to investigate a possible victim to an unknown crime. It was unfortunate, but the only empty and relatively private space was right outside the room in which their victim was currently residing.

      “So, what do we have on the car?” He asked Vic, as he glanced nervously at the doorway before them.

      “The station wagon was owned by one James Harrison of Florida, who happens to be very dead.” Vic punctuated ‘dead’ by wobbling the file in her hand. “And, it’s gets better!”

      Walt gave her what he hoped was a world-weary look, “Vic, I hardly think being murdered could get better.”

      She stabbed a finger at the general direction of his chest. “Jesus! Let me have some dark humor.” With another shake of the file, she began again. “Five years ago, he was visiting his daughters in Durant. James ends up shot with no sign of the daughters or his car.”

      “Is this the point where you’re going to give me the ‘better’ part.” By this point, he’d figured that this was Vic’s way of things and playing along wasn’t so bad. Sometimes it was damn amusing. Some days, she seemed like a natural story-teller, but with a really short fuse. It was all Vic and Walt had to admit, at least to himself, that he wouldn’t have it any other way.

     “Fast forward four years and the youngest daughter, Amy, turns up dead in a car on the side of the road dressed in bloody scrubs. It was largely assumed that the sister, Andrea, did it hence the vanishing act.” Vic tilted her head and looked at him, clearly expecting him to conclude for her.

      “Sounds like how you found our mystery victim in there.” He ran a large palm over his chin. “Anything on her yet?”

      Vic shook her head. “She didn’t have ID on her and she won’t talk to anyone. Ferg and Branch are looking at missing persons from the past few years, but we only have access to local cases.”

     “Damn. Who all’s tried to talk to her?”

      “I thought one of the forensic nurses might be good, just in case there had been some kind of sexual assault.” Vic sighed. “She went into some kind of panic and started fighting. And, if a nurse scares her, I’ll downright terrify the shit out of her.”

     Walt couldn’t hold back a snort of amusement, “You terrify everyone.” Her icy glare in response earned another snort. “Have you tried Deputy Chambler? She’s a little less, uh… forceful.”

     “Ask her yourself.” She gestured to the hall behind him.

     He turned to find said deputy walking briskly toward them, a stack of files in hand. She seemed to notice their attention on her. In a chipper voice, she said, “No dice on the missing persons angle. But, I do have complete autopsy and crime scene reports on the Harrison case.”

       Deputy Chambler was new to Absaroka County and he normally did not like the new ones. Branch Connally still got on his last nerve. Like Vic and Ferg, though, she’d grown on him. And like those two, she worked hard and efficiently, two qualities he appreciated. However, unlike them, he had yet to be on a first name basis with her.

      “Chambler, how do you feel about conducting an interview?” He tried to sound gruff, but his voice came out gravelly instead.

      For her part, Deputy Chambler did look alarmed, but it didn’t seem to be directed at him. “You mean talk to…her?” She pointed to the open room. “You know she fought off three nurses, right?”

     “No, I only heard about the one,” He threw a frown in Vic’s direction. She snorted and he could have sworn he heard her mutter “details, details.”

     “We don’t exactly have a choice. We don’t want to scare her—” He began.  
     “And I’m not scary, got it…” Chambler sighed. “Alright, but if she bites me, I’m suing. I don’t have my rabies shot.

     With that, his newest deputy squared her shoulders and marched into room 203 like she was on her way to an execution.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Beth did not like this room, not one bit. With its puke-green walls and people who poked at her. She just wanted to go home, if home was even still there. They’d given her a hospital gown, but she left it folded on the bedside table, refusing to part with her clothes. She used her arms to wrap around her torso in an attempt at self-soothing. It only made her feel smaller.

      After her panic attack over the nurse and her subsequent impromptu boxing match with the staff, they’d injected something into her arm. Probably a sedative. A mild sedative, not like the ones at the house. Mild sedatives meant it was enough to keep her complacent, but not enough to sleep. She could feel it now. Her head felt woozy and the room felt distant. She didn’t like this either.

     She’d scoped out the room before the nurse had come in. The room was small, two windows and a door. Chicken wire and glass made the windows impossible as an escape route, but the door was open. However, two police officers, or at least she assumed they were, were blocking the doorway.

     She could hear them talking outside her room, but their words were unclear. All she knew was that the tall, barrel-chested man with the cowboy hat and the blond, slim woman had been talking over a manila folder. Then, a shorter, curvier, and dark-haired woman joined them, her own manila folders in hand. It was unnerving to know they were talking about her and—

     The room spun, her heavy head seemed to follow the motion. She looked at the floor, staring hard, trying to ground herself. Andrea, had taught her to fight it, why couldn’t she do it now?

     Then, it stopped. Two feet had appeared beside her bed. It couldn’t be…No, the booted feet were smaller. She cocked her head up to peer at this new person. No scrubs, so it wasn’t anyone like before at the house. It was a pretty woman in an officer’s uniform. Dark, bobbed hair and brown eyes.

     Oh, the eyes. They were so pretty and warm.

     “Are you okay enough, to answer some questions?” The dark-haired woman seemed so concerned over her, but looked like Beth might bite her. She had a shiny plate on the breast of her shirt, but she couldn’t get her eyes to focus enough to read it.

     “Hey, I’m Deputy Chambler, I need to ask some questions?” Oh, she’d spoken again. Questions? But, her eyes were so nice; nice enough to disappear into, get lost in. Warm like chocolate—

     “Hey!” The woman waved her hand in front of Beth’s face. She’d been staring! She was pretty sure the sedative was throwing her for a big loop.

       The pretty deputy sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. “Can I at least have a name?”

       This was it, what she needed to do. Just like She and Andrea had practiced. “Beth Greene, 19, from Senoia, Georgia.” The words tumbled out like monotone vomit and the last word left her breathing heavily as if she’d actually thrown-up.

       “Oh!” Exclaimed the deputy. “Well, Beth Greene of Senoia. That’s a good start.” The dark-haired woman grinned.

       Oh god, even her smile was warm. Beth couldn’t help but give her own small smile in return.

 


	3. Survive

**_12 Hours Earlier_ **

_“When you hear me say ‘go’, you run as fast as you can.” Andrea gripped Beth’s shoulders, her finger tips digging into her skin. Her tired eyes were burning with determination “Do not wait. Just take the kids and go.”_

_Beth glanced at Sophia and Carl. The Two children looked terrified, but she was pretty sure they wouldn’t freeze when the time came. “What about the car? You said there was a car?” Her voice cracked. She couldn’t fathom running on foot like they’d originally planned. “There’s nothing for miles.”_

_The older woman gave a small, sad smile, but her shoulders slumped in defeat. “I couldn’t get the keys last night. But, I will get them this time.” Andrea sighed. “If you don’t see me with the car, keep going. Do you remember the rest?”_

_“Keep the sun over your left shoulder.” Chirped Sophia. The little girl hugged a rag doll to her chest; her only thread to home in this nightmarish place._

_“This is how we all survive.” Carl and Beth finished._

        _Andrea let go of Beth’s shoulders and pulled the stolen gun from the back of her jeans. She gave them a nod and began to ascend the basement stairs._

_Beth grabbed Carl’s hand in her left and Sophia’s with her right. They waited for their signal._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            “Bad news, guys.” Tara walked out of room 203. She bit her lip and tried to find the right words. “Beth’s not the only victim in this case.”

     “Who the fuck is Beth?” Vic put her hands on her hips. “And, that was really quick for an interview. She didn’t bite you, did she?”

       Tara shot her an annoyed look. “We have bigger issues. She is Beth, uh… her name is Beth Greene,” She clarified. “Said there was an Andrea and two children in the car with her. Carl and Sophia. She didn’t know last names, but, she gave me a good description.” She tore out a sheet from her notepad and held it out to Sheriff Longmire.

      “Shit.” Vic pulled out her cellphone and started down the hall. “I’ll have Ferg look for any missing children in the last year.”

      “She say where they went? Or what happened?” Longmire asked. He took the proffered piece of paper.

      “She said she hit her head after the tire blew. I didn’t get much more than that.” She winced in embarrassment and her shoulders slumped. “She was tired, they kinda sedated her before I, um, came in.”

      He seemed to sense her discomfort. “Well done, Chambler.” He gave her an awkward pat on the shoulder. “You worked with what you had.”

      “Thank you, sir!” She grinned brightly, her shoulders straightened.

      He just stared at her for a moment in silence. It was silences like these when she wondered if she’d offended him in some way. The staring thing was weird too, it was like he was sizing her up, but not in a competitive way. He did that to Branch a lot and sometimes Ferg, but never Vic. It was like he’d figured Vic out already.

     Finally, he spoke. “Can you stay with Ms. Greene? Just in case she feels like talking again.”

     “Uh, yeah.” Tara nodded emphatically. “I can do that.”

      She quickly turned heel and rushed back into room 203, hoping she hadn’t just embarrassed herself with her enthusiasm.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

It had to have been an hour later, and Tara was entertaining herself through a tic-tac-toe tournament on a napkin from her pocket. Since her opponent happened to be herself, it was not a very compelling competition. She’d lost at least twice and tied five times.

      “You’re still here?” She heard Beth ask. Tara glanced up from her now useless game to see the young woman staring at her intensely. She shot up out of her chair to stood beside the bed.

       “Uh, you’re awake!” She felt stupid for stating the obvious, but she wasn’t sure what to say around Beth.

      The young woman giggled. “Unless I’m dreaming.”

      Obvious Tara is obvious. And, Beth had noticed. Great going.

      “Is Beth short for something?” Tara knew it was an awkward question, but it all she could think of to dispel the awkwardness. Not her best plan, but she’d done worse. Not knowing what to do with her hands, she clasped them in front of her and rocked on her heels.

      “Bethany.” The young woman giggled. Tara noticed that she had a rich southern twang to her voice “My dad wanted it to be Elizabeth, but my Mom told him Bethany was more modern. He likes old names.” She got a far away look in her now misty blue eyes. Her fingers began scratching at her left wrist. She began to sniffle.

     Uh-oh.

      “Are you going to cry? Please don’t cry?” Tara held her hands in front of her, in her best attempt at a comforting cease-and-desist gesture as she rambled. “I don’t know what to do if you cry. I can’t even deal when I cry, let alone—”

      Beth let out a strangled giggle. “Oh my god, you’re funny.”

      “I prefer to be described as whimsical, thank you very much.” Tara pursed her lips and tried her best to look put out.

       “Whimsical it is.” Beth shot her a small smile and she began scratching her left wrist again. “I just miss them is all. I don’t know if Mom made it or not.”

        Tara sighed. “I suppose that’s as good a lead in as any. Can you tell me how you were taken?”

     She look taken aback. “Well, I was at my family’s farm. I tripped over Jimmy…uh, his body and—” She choked out a sob and she began scratching faster. “I heard gunshots and my parents were laying on the porch and I—”

      Tara set down her notebook and reached out a hand and gently grabbed the scratching hand. “We’ll get to that later, maybe when you’re feeling better. Can you tell me who took you instead?”

      Beth looked down at her hands, at the red marks on her wrist. “He used to come into my family’s store.” Her voice was quieter, almost a whisper.  “He said his name was Phillip then, but at the house he wanted us to call him the Governor.”

     “What house?” Tara realized she was still holding onto Beth’s hand, but she didn’t want to take it away just yet. She told herself that it was so the young woman wouldn’t scratch open her wrist, but she wasn’t sure the true reason.

     “His house. He kept us in the basement until it was time to play our parts.” She shivered. “He wanted us to pretend to be his family. His sister would make sure we did it right or they’d get angry.”

     “A sister? What did they—” She was interrupted by a low buzz. As she dug out her phone, she kept her other hand clasped around the other woman’s hand.

    “Hey Vic.” She answered and then heard a distant and colorful curse, so she corrected her greeting. “Hey Sheriff. Borrowing Vic’s phone again?”

     He didn’t even bother to answer her question. “Is Ms. Greene well enough to come down to the department? We need her to answer a few questions.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Beth couldn’t believe it. Not only had she let the nurse check her over, but she’d let them re-wrap her healing wrist. Of course, she’d asked Tara to stay with her. The other woman felt safe and her corny jokes made Beth feel at ease. And because of that, she’d gladly packed herself and her discharge papers into Tara’s waiting SUV.

      Tara held open the door for her, which elicited a small giggle from Beth. “So polite.” She commented as she climbed into the passenger seat.

      “My dates seem to think so.” The other woman quipped. She shut the door and hurried around to climb into the driver’s side. She opened the door and added, “And kidnapping victims don’t seem to mind either. A list which now has a grand total of one.”

      That’s right, she was a kidnapping victim. Tara wasn’t a friend to laugh with, she was a sheriff’s deputy doing her job. Beth allowed herself a small smile, but didn’t reply. Instead, she settled into the worn leather seat, tucking her bandaged wrist into the crook of her other elbow and staring at the dashboard. As the truck started, she averted her gaze from the dashboard to the window beside her.

        The town was tiny but beautiful. Small shops and restaurants dotted the side of the road. Once upon a time, she would have wanted to take her time and browse the shops. Maybe even bring a friend or drag her sister along. But now…now everything was different, she was different. A different she couldn’t even name.

      “Look, I know we’re only a couple seconds away, but I _cannot_ do silence.” She heard Tara huff.

      Beth snuck a glance at the woman beside her. She had a look like a lost puppy painted across her face and her hands were gripping the steering wheel a little too tightly. “Does the silence make you nervous?” She asked.

       Tara huffed again. “Am I that obvious?”

        “No.” Beth answered. She considered her next words. She didn’t want to get too close. “Silence used to make me feel anxious too, so I know how it is…” As her words trailed off, she ran her blunt nails over the scars on her wrist.

        “Used to?” Tara’s head turned ever so slightly in Beth’s direction. But, before she could answer, the deputy added. “Hold that thought. We’re here.”

        Tara led Beth from the truck to the small two-story building that looked like it was being squished by its neighbors.

        Once inside, she noticed that the stairs were narrow and old. Each creaking step made her want to grip the railing harder and she did on the louder creaks. She wanted to grab Tara’s hand instead, but she fought the urge.

       “Come on.” Tara beckoned to her. She opened the frosted glass door at the top and called a greeting inside.

       Beth followed her inside to find the smallest sheriff’s department she’d ever seen. Four desks and a small section that served as a jail were all there was room for and that’s exactly what was there.

       “I thought this was the sheriff’s department.” She glanced at each of the three people in the room. They didn’t seem like they’d be working for Dawn or the Governor. Especially, not Tara. They were all too friendly.  But, Dawn had warned her. Her chest tightened, and her breaths came out in shallow puffs “Is this the right place?” she asked weakly.

       Tara came to her rescue first, placing a hand at her back and another at her elbow. “Are you okay?”

       The older man from the hospital with the Stetson on his head, approached her. “Maybe you ought to sit down, Ms. Greene.” He gestured to a small worn bench.

        “Oh..okay.” She choked out. Breathe…1…2…3. Just like Andrea had taught her. Breathe…1…2…3.

        “Does the counting help? ‘Cause I can count with you.” She glanced at Tara with wide eyes. She hadn’t realized she’d been counting out loud and that Tara had followed to sit next to her on the bench.

         She shook her head and took one last shuddering breath and looked at the man in front of her. “I think I g-got i-i-it now.”

         The man brought a large hand up to his face to rub at the stubble on his chin, “I think we’ll save some of the harder questions for later.” He seemed deep in thought. Then, he addressed the other woman in the room. She was an older woman with fiery red hair and looked just as concerned as the man did. “Ruby, do you have any water?”

      Ruby just nodded and began rummaging through a desk.

      The man knelt and looked her straight in the eyes. “While I’ll save the detailed questions for later, there are some general questions that need answered. Is that alright?”

       She nodded. Ruby brought a bottle of water, which she gladly took but didn’t open.

       “Good. First thing, where were you headed with the car?”

       “We knew there was a town about an hour out from the house.” Even if they knew Dawn, it couldn’t hurt, right?

        “That’s good. Can you tell me how long you were driving?”

        “Two hours, I think. We circled around to lose them for about an hour.” Beth noticed that Tara’s hand had slid down to rest on the bench. She was tempted to grab it again, but she squeezed the bottle instead.

        “Them? Who’s them?” His voice seemed to get kinder, almost as if he was afraid she’d panic again. Realistically, Beth realized she probably looked it.

        “The Governor and his sister.” Tara cut in.

        “No!” Beth felt a shiver wrack her body and she dropped the water bottle. “He never leaves unless they’re hunting for someone new. Dawn always takes another man with her for people who escape.”

        The man looked puzzled, “Someone escaped before?”

        Beth nodded, “It was before me. Amy, Andrea’s sister.” She choked down a breath and almost whispered. “I took her place.”

        “Ms. Greene, I know this is tough, but from what you’ve told me we really need to know this.” He sighed. “What happens if they find Andrea, Sophia and Carl before we do?”

      Beth looked over at Tara’s concerned brown eyes and gave in to her urge to grab the other woman’s hand. She took a breath and squeezed Tara’s hand. “They kill them and start hunting for a new family.”


	4. Stay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I swear I haven't abandoned this story, it will be finished. I've just been dealing with a lot lately. However, I hope to continue posting regularly from now on. Thank you to anyone who stuck with me! :D

**_6 Months Earlier_ **

_For the first time in Beth’s time there, Andrea actually looked angry. The older woman sat in a polished wood chair beside the bed that Beth was laying in. Her back was straightened and her hands in her lap, tightened into fists._

_“How could you?” She hissed, her voice icy. “You think they’ll let this slide?!”_

_Beth turned her eyes up to the ceiling and tightened her arms around her torso, effectively hiding her bandaged wrists from the other woman’s sight._

_“You know what they did to Amy when she tried jumping?” Andrea suddenly looked like she wanted to cry. “Dawn won’t hesitate to do it again.”_

_“I don’t care.” Beth replied flatly. She turned away from Andrea to lay on her side, taking a breath to steel herself. “I wanted to go home. Dyin’s close enough.” She managed to spit out. When she didn’t hear an immediate reply, she curled up and pulled the quilt closer around herself._

_A soft sigh._

_“It won’t solve anything.” Andrea’s voice was softer now. “You can’t make the pain go away, you have to make room for it.”_

_Beth didn’t answer, she didn’t want to. After a moment of silence, she heard Andrea’s chair scrape against the hard wood floor as she stood up. She could feel the woman’s eyes on her and from the shadow that fell across the bed, she assumed Andrea might even try to hug her. But she was wrong. Instead, a shiny metallic object plopped onto the quilt beside her hands._

_“Your choice, Beth.” The woman intoned_

_She curled her fingers around the object and inspected it as Andrea’s footsteps faded down the hall. It was a shard of the mirror that she’d broken hours earlier. It was similar to one of the pieces she’d used to saw her wrists open._

_Her choice; fight or die._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            “Stop fucking fidgeting.” Vic said as she swatted at Tara. In response, Tara rolled her eyes and continued to tap her fingers on the plywood desk she sat at. She had no doubt she was annoying the woman across from her, but Vic’s annoyance wasn’t what worried her.

        No, it was another blonde that was worrying her. More specifically, one Beth Greene who was currently being questioned by Tara’s boss in his office. Beth had been visibly panicked by the prospect, and Tara had suggested they keep the door open to re-assure her. It had worked, but that didn’t allay Tara’s fears that Beth might get upset again. From her vantage point at her desk, she could see Beth talking and the Sheriff listening intently.

      “I will staple your hands to your desk, if you do not stop.” Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Vic pick up her stapler and wave it in her direction.

     She tore her attention away from the doorway and raised her hands. “Okay! See? I’m done.”

     Vic narrowed her eyes, still brandishing the office equipment. “Why are you so worried anyway?”

     “Before you got here, she started having a panic attack when she walked in.” Tara lowered her hands back to the table and returned her gaze to the doorway. Beth had started scratching her wrist again, but she didn’t look too distressed this time.  “Hopefully, we’ll find out why soon enough.”

      “We’ve had freak-outs before. What’s so different about this one?” In her peripheral vision, she saw Vic lean forward. “You think she’s lying?”

      “What? No!” Tara turned her attention back to her colleague. The thought hadn’t really occurred to her. “Wait, you don’t think—"

      “Not lying, per se. Withholding info, maybe.” Vic glanced at the open doorway and then leaned closer. “I looked into her living family. Not a trace.”

        Tara raised an eyebrow, mind racing. “They don’t exist?”

        “Oh no, they existed. After burying the mother and brother, her father and sister actively looked for her for about three months. Then, nada.” Vic shook her head. “They left Georgia in a fucking U-haul and no one’s heard from them since, not even their insurance company.”

         “Maybe they were killed later by the same people and dumped?” Tara knew she was spit balling in the dark, but she had an intense feeling that Beth wasn’t lying. She seemed too genuinely disturbed by her experience to be lying. “I don’t know what to think.”

        “My suggestion? Go with your gut on this. Just watch your back with her. Walt might believe her, but he has gotten things wrong before.” Her colleague threw another glance at the office doorway and gestured at what she saw. “Speaking of, duty calls.”

       Tara also looked. Beth was still sitting in her chair, sans scratching. Her boss however, was marching towards her desk.

        “Chambler, Vic!” He barked. “I need one of you to track down any police officers in the surrounding areas named Dawn. Female, about 5’5’’ with brown hair and eyes.”

         Vic quickly scribbled down the information and frowned, “No last name?”

          “No, not yet.” He turned his gaze to Tara. “I want you to call Ferg and let him know that our suspects are willing to kill. He should up the efforts of the search parties and be aware of anyone who seems too interested in who they’re looking for.”

         “Of course.” Tara grasped the receiver of her desk phone.

         Sheriff Longmire reached out a hand to stop her, just stopping short of actually touching her hand. “Before you do that, I need you to do something a little unconventional.” He nodded towards his open office. “I need to find a place for Ms. Greene to stay that’s safe and now that we have an officer involved, it can’t be here. That leaves you two.”

       “Oh, hell no!” Vic rolled her eyes. “Walt, it is bad enough that I have to schedule sex with my own husband. I am NOT adding a traumatized audience to our shit-show of a marriage.”

        He stared at Vic, almost as if the statement didn’t quite compute in his head. “She does seem to have taken quite a shine to Chambler.”

        Tara sighed and pointed at Vic, “I did not need that mental image, first of all.” She closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. “I can take her in for at least the next couple of days, but can you okay it with her first?”

        He puffed out a laugh. “Already did. You were her first choice.”

         Tara sighed again. She liked the young woman enough, but being volunteered for everything because she was the resident newbie was getting on her last nerve. “Right. I guess I’ll make that call.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Once again, Beth found herself in her pretty deputy’s SUV and on her way to her temporary home for the next few days. The ride was pleasant enough, despite the stifling heat and the lack of air-conditioning in the aging vehicle.

        Beth had felt relieved after having relayed her story to the sheriff. They’d also taken her clothes in for evidence, so she was left with a police department issue t-shirt and sweats. It felt good to wear something else, something clean. So, here in the SUV with the windows rolled down and the wind rolling through her hair, she felt truly free at last. No more monsters hiding upstairs waiting for one slip-up or another. No more silence, just the lovely young woman who made her feel so comfortable, chattering about anything and everything. And my oh my, could she talk.

       In under twenty minutes, she been regaled with several tales of the Absaroka county’s finest, both embarrassing and heroic. She didn’t mind of course. It was a willing distraction and she’d begun to learn more about Tara. She’d already figured out that Tara was not from Wyoming and had only moved a few months before. But where from? She had an accent, but Beth couldn’t place it. She found herself staring at the woman as she talked, trying to figure it out.

       “Just don’t let Branch get to you if you meet him.” Tara slapped the steering wheel, startling Beth out of her stare-down. “He’ll flirt with anyone he thinks is straight.”

       “Wh-what?” Beth sputtered. Straight. Tara thought she was straight? She’d had a boyfriend before, but she didn’t feel very straight ogling the pretty woman with the accent next to her.

       “I mean, I shouldn’t assume.” Tara backpedaled as her cheeks turned a shade of pink. “All us gay girls from Georgia aren’t exactly into the girly femme thing.” She took a hand off the wheel to point at her head. Beth assumed she meant her short hair and makeup-less face.

       Then what Tara said hit her. “You’re from Georgia!” She exclaimed. “And You’re gay?” She hadn’t meant for the last part to come out in a hysterical squeak, but it did. Her right hand automatically landed over her mouth in an attempt to take back the words.

        She felt the vehicle slow as Tara pressed on the brakes. Oh no, this was going to be bad. Beth closed her eyes, prepared for something bad.

      “Shit.” Tara sounded sad. “If you’re uncomfortable. We can go back and I will make Vic take you—”

       “No!” Beth burst out from behind her hand. She lowered it and spoke again. “I just didn’t realize. I’m kind of overwhelmed with all the information. I think it’s nice.” She opened her eyes and shot Tara a small smile.

      “Damn. I thought my soft butch look said: ‘permanently in gaytown’.” Tara grinned. “I’ll try not to info-dump again, okay?”

      Beth’s smile got bigger. “Okay. But, when I feel better, you have to tell me where in Georgia you came from. I miss it there.”

      “Deal.” The vehicle sped up and they were on their way again.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Usually, Walt could hear the place before he saw it. But Mondays for ‘The Red Pony’ were never as crowded. On this particular hot summer night, it was even less so. The flickering neon and the dull thump of a decade old sound system were all that indicated any sort of life inside.

       He shook the dust out of his sheepskin coat as he stalked to the entrance. It was looking to be a long night with all the prep work for the investigation he was intending to do.

      Once inside, he noticed that only five regulars had shown up. Two of which were well on their way to a Drunk and Disorderly. However, he wasn’t looking for another citation to give out. He needed to find Henry Standing Bear.

      “One Rainier.” He said as he took a seat on a stool directly across from man at the bar.

      “Of course.” Henry said with a sarcastic tone that only he could pull off. “And, I presume this is not a friendly visit.”

      Walt couldn’t help a small grin. “No, I’m afraid not.”

       “You never drop by anymore for just a beer.” He grumbled with a smile. “What is it this time?”

       “You probably heard about the girl we found out on the highway?” After a nod from his friend, he continued. “I’m hoping the news spreads quickly, so you can set a trap for me.”

      “Why do I get the feeling you are not talking about a bear this time?” Henry looked suspicious. “Is it legal?”

       Walt looked down at the smooth wood bar beneath his hands, “Sort of.” He looked back up. “The girl described a woman who matches the description of an Officer Dawn Lerner, who was complicit in her abduction. Now, we’ve heard of her before, but nothing like this. Mostly covering up drug abuse and sexual assault in her precinct, but no one was willing to talk.”

       “Go on.” Henry nodded.

       “We’ve got our witness in a safe place, but they, namely Dawn, will come after her. And, if we can’t find the other victims…” He stopped and considered his next words. “It’s her word against theirs and Lerner’s got connections.”

      “I assume you want the use of my bar as a trap, particularly the room above my bar?” His friend looked only slightly less bored now with one eyebrow raised.

       “Now, you’re catching on.” Walt gave him a toothy smile. “Can I have that beer now?”

        “I never said I’d do it.”  Henry pulled a can from under the bar and tossed it to Walt.

        “Hank, you’d really skip out on an old friend?”

        Henry just shook his head. “Old? Sure. But, who said you were a friend?” A small smile threatened to break out on his face. “However, I do like taking down corrupt officials.”

      “I’ll take that as a yes.” Walt tipped his beer in Henry’s direction before taking a sip. “It’s best if we start tonight.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            In Beth’s opinion, Tara’s house seemed cozy. The house was a one-story rancher with light tan siding and blue shutters. A small partially enclosed porch led to the front door. Only a plastic lounge chair and set of bamboo windchimes with little rainbow frogs painted on each chime personalized the outside. It fit her host’s personality; simple, but colorful.

      “To the right is Daryl Dixon, my landlord. He’s kind of an asshole, but the lady he lives with, Carol, is pretty cool.” Tara wave her fingers in the direction of an almost identical rancher not thirty feet to the left of the house. “She likes to talk and she bakes _amazing_ cookies.”

       “What about the other one?” Beth asked. She’d spotted the darkened trailer to the right on the way in. She cradled her bandaged arm to her chest, uncomfortable with the idea of neighbors. She’d forgotten that people often had neighbors, even distant neighbors; it was normal. Having no neighbors, an electrified fence and barbed wire was not normal. She wanted normal again, right?

       “Empty for now.” Tara seemed to have finally found the right key and she approached the door. “Daryl’s old place.”

        Beth loosened her hold on her bandaged arm but didn’t follow. She watched as the other woman pushed open the door. Something didn’t seem right. She’d been so glad to tell the Sheriff her story and get out of there, that she hadn’t really thought about what she was doing. What if—

        “You coming?” She heard Tara ask, interrupting her thoughts. She looked up and saw a concerned look stare back at her. “Something wrong?”

         “Um, yes?” Beth made her way to the open door. “I do have some questions.”

         “Oh my god, of course!” Tara practically tripped over herself rushing into the house. “Come in. I’ll find some food and you can ask away!”

         Beth giggled. “I guess I am kind of hungry.” She followed the scurrying deputy into the living room.

         Tara tossed her keys into a clay bowl by the door and then made her way to what Beth assumed was the kitchen.

         Beth didn’t follow her again, she held back to observe the room around her. She knew the door to her back was the main entrance. She could see two windows to her left and they looked breakable if needed. A heavy floor lamp next to couch looked perfect for that. Andrea would be proud, she was still surviving.

         She stopped to listen for Tara’s movement. The deputy was pretty and was comforting, but that didn’t mean Beth could trust her entirely. The sound of banging pans, opening cupboards and the occasional curse told her that she had a couple more minutes.

        She scanned the room for more potential weapons. Nothing. A row of three framed photos on the wall caught her eye. She tip-toed closer to look.

       The first was of a younger Tara, another woman who looked like a slightly older version of Tara, an older man in a wheelchair and a young child who looked no more than two. Someone had written in puffy paint on the frame; “Tara, Lilly, Dad and Meghan.”. The writing looked like a teenager’s. In the second photo, Tara in a blue police uniform stood with four other uniformed women and they were all making funny faces at the person taking the picture, their arms around each other. The last was much different. It did not have Tara in it, instead it portrayed a heavier young woman sitting cross-legged on the floor among stacks of books with an open book in her lap. Her dark blonde curly hair was in a messy ponytail and her wire-rimmed glasses were half way down her nose. But, she was smiling brightly at whoever was taking the photo. All of the pictures were normal, and pleasant.

       She wondered who the woman was. She hadn’t seen her at the department building and Tara hadn’t mentioned another roommate. Unless, she was Carol. Tara did say she was nice. But wasn’t she living with Daryl?

      “Hey, is instant macaroni and cheese okay? I don’t have anything else.” Tara called from the other room.

      “Yeah,” Beth called back. Her stomach growled. “Sounds good.”

       She took another look at the pictures. They looked genuine, no photoshop. Dawn had threatened her with people who could only look genuine on the surface. Andrea had told her that’s how they’d covered up deaths and kidnappings before.

      She scanned the living room again. It looked lived in. The couch and chairs seemed secondhand, so they looked used. A couple open books lay on the coffee table. Some dvds on a shelf. Nothing to suggest that it was too perfect or hastily put together.

      “It’s ready.”

      She looked up to see Tara poking her head around the doorway. “You coming?”

      Beth’s stomach growled again as she smelled the cheesy pasta. In response, she stepped into the kitchen.

      It was, for lack of a better word, cozy like the rest of the house. It was well equipped for a small kitchen. A small stove in the corner with an equally small refrigerator in the other, took up most of the space. The small two-person table took up the rest of the space. She noticed a door by the refrigerator. Another means of escape.

      Tara placed two steaming bowls on the table and Beth immediately sat and began to eat. She had not realized how hungry she was, despite her loud stomach.

      About halfway through the bowl, she took a moment to look at Tara. She didn’t want to waste any more time. “Can I ask my questions now?”

      “Okay, shoot.” Tara took a heaping bite of her meal.

      “Okay,” Beth put her spoon down. “What happens next? Do they need me again?”

      “Maybe. For now, you just have to stay safe here until we can find this Dawn woman.” She stirred the contents of her bowl. “Or when we find your friends.”

       Beth thought for a moment and took another bite of food. Tara had said, when not if. That was a good sign, _if_ they didn’t know Dawn. She just had one more question. She could ask, but she wasn’t sure she wanted the answer.

        “Why can’t I see my family? Mr. Longmire said I couldn’t talk to them yet.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            She was speechless. Tara Chambler, queen of the rambling rants, did not know what to say. Of course, the resident Sheriff wouldn’t have the heart to tell her and in turn had thrown Tara under the bus. She could tell Beth the truth, that her family was nowhere to be found. Or she could say…

      Actually, there wasn’t any other option that wasn’t totally heartbreaking or lying like a corrupt politician in court. She had thought that Beth wouldn’t ask just yet or she’d at least have another hour to come up with something. So, Tara settled for just staring wide-eyed at the young woman in front of her with that trademark Chambler awkwardness.

      She could practically see the wheels turning in Beth’s head. The young woman looked down at the bowl in front of her and then back up to Tara. “Are they…are they dead?”

      “No!” The word exploded out of Tara’s mouth before she could stop it. She hastily added, “Not that we know of.”

      Beth’s eyes furrowed. “You don’t know?”

      Tara blew out a slow stream of air she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. “We haven’t located them yet.”

      Beth’s face brightened, a smile formed on her face. “They’re alive! I knew Dawn was lying.”

      She looked so happy and Tara couldn’t spoil that, right? Tara knew she shouldn’t lie, but this would be just a fib, maybe even just speculation in a way. She sent up a prayer to whatever deity was listening that she wasn’t about to get Beth’s hopes up, only to tear them down again. “Yeah.” She said, trying to match the other woman’s enthusiasm. “They looked for you for months, actually. Probably just couldn’t take the pain of not finding you.”

      Beth’s smile could not get any bigger and her eyes looked like they might well up with tears. “They missed me.” She said softly, almost to herself. “I miss them so much.”

      Tara watched as Beth took several more eager bites compared to her own slower bites. The other woman finished quickly and placed her spoon into the bowl with a clank.

      Seeing this, Tara pushed back her chair and stood up. “You know what? It has been a long day. How about I show you to your room?”

       To her relief, Beth nodded and yawned. “I guess I haven’t slept in almost a day.”

       “It’s the adrenaline.” Tara tried to sound helpful and not at all like the awkward fibbing turtle she felt like. She nodded her head towards the doorway. “The kitchen was an add-on, so only way to the hall is through the living room.”

      Tara started for the living room and she could hear Beth’s chair scrape against the floor as she stood. She led the blond woman down the hallway, “My room is at the end on your left. If you need anything, feel free to let me know.” She stopped at the first door on the right. “This is yours.”

      Tara opened the oak door to reveal the purple, white and gold decorated room within. “Please don’t mind the décor, my niece stays in here and I let her decorate it. She’s really into princesses right now.”

      Beth looked wistfully at the room, “It’s pretty. It looks like my room when I was little”

      Tara couldn’t really say the same, she’d been quite the tomboy as a child. She’d been into sports and camo. But, it did seem to fit the Beth. She seemed like she’d been really into princesses and ponies when she was little.

      “Bathroom’s across the hall. There’s an extra toothbrush in the drawer under the sink.” She paused and pointed at the bright white dresser, painted with a cartoon cat face in her niece’s room. “I have an old pair of sweats and some t-shirts in the bottom drawer.”

      “Oh, thank you.” Beth cradled her arm to her chest again. “You’ve been so kind.”

      “Just part of the job.” Tara smiled at the woman. “I’m gonna go brush my teeth and lock up for the night, okay?” She started back down the hall. When she heard the door to the room close, she quickened her step.

     Within five minutes, she’d brushed her teeth and locked up. It didn’t take too much longer to dress for bed and settle in. She kept her door open a crack to listen, just in case her guest decided to run. She was rewarded by the sound of running water and a few moments later, footsteps and then the bedroom door closing.

      Tara let out a sigh and tried to snuggle into her sheets. She felt guilty for fibbing to Beth. Denise would’ve found another way. She always knew what to do. She missed Denise.

       With a sigh, she did what she always did on the nights she missed Denise the most; she took one of her pillows and curled around it. Sometimes, if she imagined hard enough, it felt like Denise was there in her arms again.

      Finally, she began to drift off. Her aching muscles relaxed into the soft mattress. Her eyes drifted shut.

      In what felt like seconds later, she was startled awake by screams coming from Beth’s room.

 


	5. Nightmares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A big thank you to the anonymous reader who gave me my first comment! You have no idea what that meant to me this week! It was some really good encouragement :)

**_One Year Earlier_ **

_The dishes didn’t really need to be done. With only a couple glasses and some wayward silverware, Tara could have left them for tomorrow. But, something was keeping her up and making her hands itch to move. Something she couldn’t place, so it bothered her even more. She dunked her soapy hands back into the water to retrieve the last fork._

_“Tara?” Her girlfriend’s sleep laced voice came from the doorway. “Honey, eleven at night is not time for dishes.”_

_She turned, sudsy fork in hand to face Denise. She couldn’t help but smile at how cute her sleepy girlfriend was. Her dark blond hair stuck out in several places, and her glasses sat precariously on the tip of her nose, as if they too wanted sleep. “What exactly is eleven at night for, if not for dishes?” She teased._

_Denise pushed her glasses back up with a finger and stuck her tongue out at Tara. “Obviously, it’s for cuddling with your tired girlfriend who has to leave at eight in the morning.”_

_“Okay.” She bobbed her head in the direction of the fork in her hand. “One more, then I’m done.”_

_As she turned back to the sink, she heard Denise sigh. Then, a pair of arms wrapped around her waist and she felt her girlfriend’s face nuzzle her back. The gesture brought up a bubble of adoration for the other woman in Tara’s chest, so much so, that she stopped what she was doing to close her eyes and enjoy it._

_“I love you.” Tara couldn’t help the note of silly happiness in her voice._

_She felt Denise’s contented hum in response._

_“You’re not going to say it back?” She already knew this game and she was just teasing, but it was reassuring to hear it again._

_“Nope.” She said with a pop at the end._

_“Uh-huh. And, why would that be?” Tara let out a pretend huff of annoyance._

_She could feel the smile form on her girlfriend’s face. Then, she felt Denise loosen her arms and pull at Tara’s hips in an attempt to turn her around. Tara opened her eyes and complied._

_She looked down at her and tried her best to look exasperated, but the grin on Denise’s face broke what little acting ability she had, and she smiled in return._

_“I’ll tell you when I get back because, I always come back.” She rose up and pecked Tara on the lips. “Now come to bed, I want those famous ‘Tara cuddles’ so I can sleep.”_

_Tara glanced at the sink. It could wait. She’d pull the plug in the morning and leave the fork. “As long as when you get back, we have loud, obnoxious, celebratory sex that annoys the neighbors.”_

_Denise just laughed as she dragged Tara back to their bedroom. It seemed nothing could go wrong._

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Limbs torn in two with rotting flesh hanging from the sharp bones. And the blood, the blood was everywhere. Gunshots sounded all around her. Beth tried to cover her eyes with her fingers, but cold skeletal hands gripped her arms and pull them from her face. She forced her eyes closed.

       “Go away!” She shouted.

       A terrible hissing sound erupted somewhere behind her and an icy voice taunted, “Forget about me already?”

        “Jimmy?” She asked tentatively, her eyes still shut. “I didn’t forget, I told that man all about you.”

         A puff of rancid air hit her face and another hiss. “Please,” She implored, opening her eyes. “I tried.”

          But, there was nothing in front of her. Just an empty dinner table set for six. The white tablecloth with the crocheted lace edges was all too familiar. No, not here. Not again.

          Her breath seemed to be lodged in her chest as she struggled to breath.

          “Don’t you ever die?” A voice behind her. She turned to look.

           No. It was the man with the eyepatch. The governor. He was behind her, axe in hand.

         She couldn’t seem to get her vocal cords to squeak out a scream and her feet felt rooted to the floor.

        Finally, with eyes closed again, she took in some air and she screamed.

        Now, the hands were back grasping at her flailing arms.

        “No!”

       “Beth! It’s me.” A familiar voice said. “It’s just me.”

       Wait, that wasn’t…

       Beth stilled her arms and slowly pried open her eyes. She didn’t see another nightmarish figure or the Governor again. No, this time all she saw was the concerned and sleepy face of Tara. Her dark hair was a fluffy, tangled mess and she looked both terrified and worried. While it concerned her, she felt some relief knowing that she was not back at the table in that terrible house.

      “Are you okay?” Tara was still holding her arms in place. “You were screaming.”

      “I-I was.” She hadn’t wanted to disturb her host so much, she’d been so sure she could keep it together. Tears threatened to fall. “I didn’t mean too…”

      “Hey, it’s okay.” Tara’s soft voice soothed. Her hands rubbed Beth’s upper arms in a calming gesture. “Nightmares happen. Do you need water, a hug…anything?”

      In an impulsive move that seemed to surprise both women, Beth launched herself into Tara’s arms. To her credit, Tara did not seem alarmed. She froze for a second, but eventually eased her arms around Beth.

      “I’m sorry, I should have asked first.” She murmured into the other woman’s t-shirt.

      “I did offer.” Tara yawned, and her chest rose with the movement. “You could have taken me up on the ‘Anything’ part and who knows what I’d be doing.”

        Beth muffled a giggle and let out her own yawn. She snuggled closer, positioning her ear so that she could listen to Tara’s heartbeat. She had to remind herself that this was real and not a dream again.

       “Better now?” She could feel Tara’s voice vibrate in her chest as she spoke. It was soothing.

        Beth nodded and she felt Tara’s arms loosen as she made a move to get off the bed. She frantically grasped at one of Tara’s wrists “Wait! Can you stay? I’m scared to be alone.”

      “Uh…” She could almost feel the confusion rolling off Tara, but she didn’t want to look at her just yet.

    “Sure.” Tara yawned again as she nodded her head

     Beth pulled the wrist she held back towards her body. Tara let her keep hold of that wrist as she scooted up towards the pillows at the head of the bed.

     “Which side do you like?”

      “I don’t know.” Truly, she had no idea. She’d grown up with just a single person bed and for the past year, a small cot with barely enough room for one body. She wondered if it was strange that she didn’t know.

      “Cool, you get to find out now.” Tara smiled and scooted to the left-side pillow. “I like the left.”

      “Can I—" She pointed at Tara’s side. “—Stay close?”

      “Yeah, sure what ever you need.” The woman yawned. “Unless it’s juggling pineapples or something like that. Trust me, that is way beyond my talents.”

      Beth suppressed another giggle and laid down close to Tara. She scooted closer and with some caution snuggled into the woman’s side. “Is this okay?” She asked. She didn’t get an answer but, after a few seconds she felt an arm snake around her.

       “You’re really good at this comforting thing.” Beth remarked.

        “So I’ve been told. Denise used to call them ‘Tara cuddles’” She let out a laugh that dissolved into a yawn. “Apparently, it’s the one thing in relationships that I am super—” Another yawn. “—good at.”

       It took Beth a few moments to gather her thoughts, but she wanted to know. “Who’s Denise?

      All she got in return were soft snores. She smiled to herself and cuddled back into Tara’s side. Then, it hit her.

     She didn’t want to think about it now, but it kept coming back into her mind. What if Denise was the woman in the hallway photo. What if her and Tara were still—

     It hurt to think of it, but maybe her pretty deputy wasn’t really hers after all.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            “Quadrant B5 seems pretty empty of any tracks so far. I think the search party marked it wrong” Tara pulled her pen from behind her ear to make a note on the map on her clipboard. “Vic, you got anything?”

      “Nope, not unless you count the dead squirrel I’ve found by this marker.” Vic glanced up from a patch of grass marked by a fluorescent orange marker tied to a tree branch, a camera in hand. “So, how was last night? No more freak-outs?”

      Tara tried to think of a response. She was pretty sure commenting that their only witness was really into cuddling was not what Vic had in mind. Nor did she think the blond woman would want to know that she’d also been really into it. Or the fact that she’d kind of lied about Beth’s family. It was a mess. She chose a safer option. “Oh, it wasn’t bad. It’s weird not living alone. I actually had to make a whole pot of coffee this morning for the first time in a year.”

      “Do you think she’s okay alone?” Vic moved about a foot away from her previous spot to the next marked tree. “Ferg might scare her sitting outside all day.”

      “I left a note about that and I asked Carol to drop by.” Tara saw Vic raise an eyebrow. “And, I’m going to stop by around lunch time to go take her to lunch.”

       Vic’s eyebrow rose higher. “Really?”

       “What? I have no real food in the house and she can’t keep wearing my old clothes.” Tara knew she sounded defensive, but her late night activities were still weighing on her.

        “Wait…do you like her?” Vic looked way too pleased with herself, a grin beginning to form.

       “I do not.” Tara shook her head with vehemence. “I just happen to have empathy for my fellow man…uh, woman just like every other human on this planet is supposed to. Y’know love your neighbor and all that jazz.”

      “Sure,” Vic snickered. “I don’t see you spreading the love with Branch.”

      “Well, he’s just annoying so I annoy him back.” With an eyeroll, Tara tried to change the subject. “I am not seeing any of the tracks that are marked on the map. We didn’t mix up the quadrant assignments, did we?”

      “I check the paperwork twice. Either we’ve got some drunk off their ass search party members or someone covered their tracks after the damn search parties came through.” The blond woman shook her head at the ground below her, then she grinned up at Tara. “Doesn’t mean you’re off the hook.”

      “Whatever.” She tried to sound more grumpy than she was, but Tara was not at the department for her acting skills. It was kind of a relief that Vic thought that was the problem and hadn’t questioned further. She pointed to another marker to her right. “We should call it in, after we mark where these actually are. I got this one.”

     She should have known the minute she made a move towards the marker, that something was different. It was the smell that hit her first. A subtle rotting meat smell.

       And, then she spotted it in a pile of leaves that couldn’t be more than a foot tall.

       The pattern of a skull barely covered in slippery sheets of flesh was unmistakable amongst the leaves. It’s terrible grin, all teeth and peeling skin stood out stark white against the browns and reds of the forest floor. A plaid shirt peeked out from under leaves that had been clearly moved to hide the rest of whatever was left of the skull’s owner.

        “Hey Vic, you might want to see this.” She looked back at her approaching colleague. “I think we might have an issue.”

        “This was definitely not on the fucking map.” Vic knelt down for what Tara assumed was a closer look. “This decomp isn’t natural.”

       “What makes you say that?” She hesitated but took a step closer anyway.

        “I’ve seen a lot of dumped bodies in the woods. Philly wasn’t all city.” Vic pulled a pair of nitrile gloves from her back pocket. As she put them on, she added. “This should have more bugs and bites, so to speak. The animals and insects find a corpse fucking fast. He…or she has some bugs but no bite marks, plus not enough smell.”

       Tara scrambled to Vic’s side, “But the skin’s got…slippage and shit going on.”

       “Yeah, someone used something to speed up the process. I’ve seen this before. It’s usually when someone doesn’t want an ID on the victim” Vic pushed aside some of the leaves covering the corpse. “Poor bastard can’t have been dead long. From the smell and this heat, it’s only been about two hours.”

       Tara had an idea. She glanced up into the trees, hoping she might spot what she was looking for. “Hey, look.” She pointed to one of the trees to their left. There, attached about eight feet off the ground was a camouflaged deer camera. “Bet that’s motion-activated, we might just have a picture of our killer or our missing people. Think we can get a warrant by ten?”

     “With this fucking corpse? Judge would be out of his damn mind not to.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            It was so weird to be free. When Beth had woken up, she’d been confused. She wasn’t on a dirty, cold cot in a basement, but in a soft canopy bed in a room filled with sunlight. For a few moments, she’d just laid there on top of the lacy comforter basking in the sun’s warmth.

      Then, she’d remembered the night before. She felt her cheeks redden with embarrassment at how she snuggled up to Tara so readily. It had felt nice to have someone there. But, on the other hand, she didn’t know Tara. For all she knew, it was just a trap like the ones Dawn would brag about. Suddenly, she didn’t feel like basking anymore.

        She closed her eyes and took a grounding breath. She had to stop letting Dawn into her head. She should enjoy her time here, while she was still free. Sort of. She still couldn’t go anywhere on her own, but she wasn’t confined to any one room. Beth Greene could roam the house as she pleased.

      With her sudden realization in mind, she sat up on the bed and swung her legs over the side. She noticed a folded piece of paper on the bedside table. It said “Read Me, Beth Greene!!!” in purple ink. It looked like something Tara would do. Curious, she picked it up and proceeded to unfold the paper. It said in the same purple ink:

                                                 **Beth,**

**I’ve got a shift today until noon. Ferg’s outside to keep an eye out and if you need anything. I asked my neighbor, Carol, to come over to keep you company. She’s going to bring cookies! You like cookies, right? I made a whole pot of coffee (by the microwave) and an omelet in the fridge. I set out some clothes and a towel in the bathroom.**

**~ Tara**

**P.S. This is the password for Ferg and Carol. So you’ll know it’s them and not pod people: Yo-yo’s the word.**

 

          Beth tried not to laugh, she could hear the note in Tara’s voice, especially the password part. She folded the note back up and stood to search out the promised coffee.

         It didn’t take long to find. Within minutes she had a cup of coffee and part of a cold omelet. She spotted a loaf of bread on the counter and decided some toast might be good too. As she went through the distantly familiar motions, it occurred to her that she hadn’t really chosen her breakfast in over a year. There was something liberating about making her own toast. A small smile to no one crept across her face. She really did like this.

      She picked up her mug of coffee, cupping it with her palms. Closing her eyes, she inhaled the warm smell of the coffee and toast. It smelled like safety, like home. Like early mornings on the Greene farm when everyone was rushing in and out of the house, eager to get on with their day. Her sister was always cranky on those days, trying her parents’ patience with her snappy comments. Her parents, morning people as always, were way too cheery. Sometimes, they even got on her nerves. But, at the end of the day no matter what was said, none of them doubted that they loved each other. God, she missed that. She missed them.

      A knock on the door shook Beth out of her thoughts. Abandoning her breakfast, she crept up to the front door. She peered through the peephole, hoping to at least figure out if this person was friend or foe. She couldn’t see much, just the top of the person’s head. She forced herself to inhale and exhale. She shouldn’t panic just yet, right? Careful to keep her hand on the doorknob, ready at any moment to slam it shut again, she opened the door a crack.

      A petite, middle-aged woman with silver, short hair stood there on the porch. Her smile was easygoing and friendly. In her hands, she held a sealed Tupperware dish.

     “Beth?” The woman’s voice was soft, kind even. Her smile grew as she spoke. “Tara asked me to check on you and maybe keep you company.”

     Beth shrank back, muscles in her arms tense as she held onto the door. “Did she tell you something to say?”

     At first the woman seemed confused as she frowned. “Oh, I am so sorry, honey. I almost forgot.” Her smile came back and she said brightly. “Yo-yo’s the word!”

     Beth didn’t know how to respond. She assumed this was Carol, but now that the woman was here, she didn’t know quite what to do.

     “I’m Carol, by the way.” She held out a hand to Beth through the crack in the door.

    It was now or never. She didn’t want to stay in the house by herself. Beth stuck out her own hand to shake Carol’s and moved from behind the door, pulling it open as she did.

     “I have some cookies I baked.” She lifted up the container in her hand to Beth’s eye level. “I thought it might help you feel better about everything. I want you to feel welcome here for as long as you’re with us.”

     Carol seemed to practically float into the kitchen and Beth followed, still not quite sure what to say. With a pop, Carol opened the lid of her dish, filling the air with the smell of fresh chocolate chip cookies. It was mouth-watering to smell and Beth felt her stomach growl as the other woman set the container down.

     “I am so sorry, I interrupted your breakfast.” Carol pointed to the abandoned plate and mug on the table.

     “Actually, I had just started when you knocked.” Beth crossed her arms to hug her torso. Carol didn’t seem too scary. Maybe she could chance it. “Do you want have some toast? I can make more.”

      “Oh no, you sit down and eat. I’ll fix something up.” Carol laughed as she opened the refrigerator. “I already know how little Tara has here as far as food. Lord knows, she’d starve if we didn’t have Henry’s bar down the road.”

      Beth found herself obeying the kind woman and her stomach thanked her for it. Soon, she found herself almost done with her breakfast and gladly listening to Carol talk on about Tara’s eating habits.

      Eventually, Carol placed her own plate and mug on the table across from Beth. “I suppose I should get on with why I really agreed to come here.” She said with a nervous frown on her face.

     Mid-bite, Beth froze in place. This was it. It was a trap or something bad had happened.

     “You know, there’s no counselors or therapists available here for people who’ve just gotten out of traumatic situations.” Carol’s blue eyes seemed watery. “I know it’s difficult to go on living normally and I wanted to let you know I’m here to listen. Whether it’s panic attacks, nightmares or just plain nerves. I’m here.”

      Beth’s stomach felt like it had clawed its way to her throat and then dropped down again. The nightmare. Tara must have told her this morning. “She told you about my nightmare.” She couldn’t help the edge of betrayal in her voice. “She told you?”

      “Oh honey, no. I didn’t know that. She only told me the bare bones story, I swear.” Carol looked like she was carefully considering her words. “I just know what it’s like, is all. My late husband kept my daughter and I from leaving our own home for months. He used threats, violence and whatever else he could to keep us there. He’d always been cruel, but not like that.”

       She wasn’t sure what to do. On one hand, Carol seemed genuine and she so desperately wanted to talk to someone. On the other hand, it could end up biting her in the end, whether because Carol told someone or Tara decided she was too crazy to keep around.

      “I’m not here to judge you or report back to the Sheriff” The silver haired woman placed a gentle hand over one of Beth’s “I’m doing this as a friend and fellow survivor.”

      And that was it, the magic words. All of the sudden, Beth started talking. It was like the words didn’t want to be kept prisoner in her head any longer. She started with the nightmare and then worked backwards into how she didn’t feel she could trust anyone. She even told her about the paranoia over Dawn’s traps Carol nodded every few words or so and just listened.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            In Vic’s opinion, getting the warrant for the camera and the subsequent downloading of its files had been too easy. And anytime something was this easy, a monkey wrench was about to be thrown into their investigation. It almost never failed.

      “This is taking too damn long.” She said to nobody. Staring at the laptop on her desk while these pictures loaded was not her idea of what she’d wanted to do today. She’d rather be out cataloguing the search party’s markers again or waiting on autopsy results, something less mundane. She and Tara had flipped a coin over who would take what. Her subsequent reaction and string of insults had seemed to amuse everyone present.

      A ding from the laptop.

     “Fuck yes!” She pumped a fist into the air.

      There were only two hundred and twenty-six photos on the camera. It was motion-activated like Tara had guessed and the sensor seemed to be pretty sensitive to any movement. Mostly deer and a couple of possums. As she got towards the end, she noticed that the photos now contained images of two people, a woman, and a man. They appeared to be arguing and it looked like a shotgun in the man’s hand. Then, she noticed woman’s shoulder-length wavy hair and sheepskin vest.

      “Hey Walt!” She called from her desk, continuing to go through the photos. “I think we may have found Andrea.”

      He came barreling out the office to stand behind her. “The kids?”

      “No, not yet.” She continued through the photos. The images documented a struggle between Andrea and the man and eventually just Andrea standing over what was presumably the man’s body, shotgun in hand. Vic stopped scrolling.

      “Shit.” It was all she could think to say. This was not good for their case against Dawn. She’d thought for sure, it’d be unrelated or a good smoking gun.

     “Are those the last of them?” Walt sounded just as deflated as she felt.

     “No, there’s at least ten more.” She kept scrolling. “Probably deer or another damned possum—"

      Or not. She stopped at the third to last picture. It was of a figure in a hoodie who appeared to be covering the body in leaves. The next showed the figure leaning over the body.

      “Looks like we’ve got evidence that someone didn’t want us to know who our body was and it wasn’t Andrea.” Walt poked a finger at the computer screen. “My guess is, there was a good reason Andrea killed this guy and his identity is the key to that answer.”

       “What should I do? I can’t rush an autopsy.” Vic began the process of selecting photos to print.

     “I think we need to ask Ms. Greene.”


	6. Best Laid Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have another comment! Yes!! Thank you AllysonDark for the encouragement! :D  
> I would like to mention that Martha Peletier is purely my invention. The rest of the Peletier family is never addressed in the show and I simply made up my own version of who they were for the purpose of my story.

**_Approximately 28 hours earlier_ **

_“Is she dead?” Sophia’s voice was laced with fear for her friend. Andrea hoped that the girl wasn’t right. It had just been a small accident, nothing that could kill anyone. But, here standing over Beth’s hopefully unconscious body in the passenger seat, she wasn’t so sure._

_“Beth?” She didn’t get an answer. Only one more way to find out. Andrea placed two fingers against the young woman’s neck. Please don’t be dead. She couldn’t lose someone else, not like Amy._

_At first, nothing. She could hear Carl behind her pacing back and forth on the asphalt._

_Finally, she felt it; a small fluttery pulse._

_“She’s alive.” She could feel the sob in her own voice threatening to bubble up. “We need a new plan, guys.”_

_“But we have to get her help.” Sophia sounded like she might cry or that she might already be doing so._

_“We can carry her. I saw a sign for a town somewhere back there.” Carl said, the sound of his sneakers still slapping at the pavement._

_“Okay. We—” That’s when she saw it, the tell-tale dust in the distance from an oncoming car. It couldn’t be._

_“No time.” Andrea said with a terse nod towards the dust. She looked around her. There had to be somewhere to hide their friend. There were fields to one side and woods on the other, with nothing but seemingly endless road to separate them._

_She looked at her feet, attempting to think faster. She noticed the shadow the sun was casting over the car. That was it._

_“Carl, I need a hand getting her out of the car.” Andrea pointed to the space underneath the car. “We hid her in plain sight. With the flat tire, the car casts a bigger shadow.”_

_“What happens if they look under the car?” Carl asked as he took hold of Beth’s legs and attempted to shift them out of the car’s foot well._

_Andrea tried to be as gentle as possible as she wrapped her arms around the woman’s torso. “Dawn thinks we stick together, she’s not as smart as she thinks.” She tried a re-assuring smile, but she wasn’t so sure she was right. Dawn was arrogant, but smart and if Phillip was with her, they were a dangerous combination. Even so, she couldn’t let Beth be a sitting duck for them._

_“We’ll put her on the ground here,” She used the toe of her boot to point at the edge of the car’s underside. “Then, we slide her under the rest of the way, okay?”_

_The boy nodded and did as she instructed. Beth wasn’t heavy by any means, so it wasn’t a difficult task, but they were exhausted and running on adrenaline._

_“They’re coming!” She heard Sophia’s panicked shout just as they’d situated Beth._

_“Sophia, Carl? Go! Into the woods. Don’t stop for anything or anyone!” Andrea turned to face both children. She knew it wasn’t her best plan, but it would have to work for now. “I’ll be right behind you, but I have to get Beth safe first.”_

_Carl nodded and took Sophia’s hand in his own. Andrea pulled her gun out of the back of her jeans and held it out to them. “Take this and don’t hesitate to shoot if you need to. Do you know how the safety works?”_

_Both children nodded and were soon scurrying to the woods, neither one looking back. Andrea closed her eyes and took a quick lungful of air. Now or Never._

_As quick as she could, Andrea used both hands to shove Beth’s body farther under the car. She then took the young woman’s bandaged wrist and crossed it over her torso. She stepped back to make sure Beth couldn’t be seen easily. Her friend was practically invisible unless you stooped to look underneath._

_“Stay safe.” She knew that the unconscious woman couldn’t hear her, but it felt like it might come true if she said it aloud. And with that, Andrea took off for the woods._

_Her boots slid through fallen leaves as she scrambled for a hiding place amongst the trees. A group of trees and brush provided a spot where she would be hidden but could still see the car on the road._

_She watched as a police SUV slowed to a stop and two women got out. With a furrowed brow she looked over the new vehicle, it said “Absaroka Sheriff’s department”. Dawn didn’t have friends there, she was sure of it. She looked over the two women; neither one seemed to know the car before them. They actually seemed confused by it. Not Dawn’s people then._

_They could help! The thought struck like lightning. Andrea made a move to stand up, her hand already in the air ready to wave them down. She opened her mouth to shout._

_A hand clapped over her mouth and a heavy weight tackled her to the ground. She sputtered for the air that had left her chest in her descent, but then she felt a booted foot slam into her chest pressing her to the ground. The familiar ice-cold feel of a shotgun barrel pressed against her forehead._

_“Try anything and I’ll kill the kids.”_

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            “I told you everything I remembered last time.” Beth Greene did not like her first day of freedom being interrupted like this. The living room coffee table before her had been,not even an hour before, such a safe place to talk with Carol. Now, she was being questioned. Again. She tried her best to use her hardest stare on the man before her.

      Sheriff Longmire fixed her with a hard stare of his own. “Perhaps a few things slipped your memory. Like say, an accomplice of Lerner’s you forgot to mention.”

      “Lerner?” She was confused. Was that the Governor’s real name? “Who’s that?”

      “I apologize. The woman you knew as Dawn has a last name of Lerner.” He pulled a sheet of paper from the manila folder in his hand.

      “Oh,” She felt a lump in her throat. Dawn had a name and life outside the Governor’s house. When she was there at the house, she couldn’t imagine the woman as anything more than a constant tyrant who meted out punishment with sadistic glee. In the past year, Beth had been threatened with the woman’s outside connections, but they never seemed as real as they did now.

       “You know her name.” A hysteric sob threatened to cut off her vocal cords, but she choked it down to ask the one question that was slowly killing the hope she’d been carefully building. “Why aren’t you going after her?”

       The sheriff gave her a humorless laugh that didn’t reach his eyes. “I’m supposed to be questioning you.  Not the other way ‘round.” He put the paper down on the coffee table and slid it across to her. “I need evidence and evidence takes time. And, in that time, you can tell me if this is someone you know.”

       She looked at he paper. It was an enlarged photograph, grainy and low resolution. Even with these qualities, the sheepskin vest and light hair of the woman with her back to the camera and gun in hand was unmistakable. “Andrea?”

       “No, we have a pretty good idea that’s her. It’s the man in the picture we want.”

      She looked again, trying to ignore the simmering emotions in her gut. Or maybe it was just her breakfast threatening to make an appearance.

      The man looked like he was backing away from the gun in Andrea’s hand. But, something looked familiar about him. His stance seemed too cocky for a man being threatened, but the plaid shirt threw her off, almost as if he should be…dressed in a uniform.

       Now, she saw it.

      She shoved the paper away like she’d been burned by it. “Gorman’s supposed to be dead already.”

      Beth was vaguely aware of Longmire catching the paper and staring at her.

      “Dead already?” He asked. “Sounds like you really did forget to tell me something.”

      No point in bothering to hide it now. She sent up a prayer that Andrea might forgive her for this. “I didn’t want Andrea blamed for his death…or worse.” Beth covered her eyes with her hands in a futile effort stop tears.

       “No one’s getting blamed right now.” She heard him say, his tone softer now. “To keep it that way, you’re going to have to tell me what happened.”

       It took a moment of weighing her options, before she spoke. “He was Dawn’s favorite. He liked to make comments about me and Sophia. Sometimes, he’d try to… but Dawn or Andrea would stop him.” Her words felt like smoke coming out of her mouth, choking her with how real it was. “Andrea would sometimes stay up all night, keeping watch, just in case he came down into the basement.”

     Sheriff Longmire just nodded, prodding her on. Thankfully, he did not ask to clarify exactly what Gorman had meant to do.

     “I smashed a jar over his head after he grabbed met the last time. It had water in it, for the road just in case. He grabbed me and I just… there was so much blood, it got all over the car.” Just saying it out loud brought the feel of the heavy glass breaking in her palm, shards raining down over her fingers and the water splashing.

       “When was this? I need to have a good timeline for how,” He pointed to the picture in front of him. “he ended up here.”

       “It was when we broke out. I’d just gotten to the station wagon with Carl and Sophia. I don’t know the time.” She shuddered then added. “He was rolling on the ground. Andrea pulled me away, I heard the gunshot. I didn’t look to see—” She sniffled. “I thought we killed him and now you’re gonna have to arrest her for tryin’ and actually doing it.”

        “No, this is good. Really good.” Sheriff Longmire sounded almost happy as he said it. “And clearly self-defense.”

        Removing her hands from her eyes, Beth looked at the man, the tears in her eyes almost forgotten. “Why does that make you happy? We tried to kill a man and now he’s dead.”

        “Ms. Greene, this means we have the beginnings of a case against Lerner.” He paused, seemingly lost in thought. “I need one more thing from you. It’s about the kids, Sophia and Carl.”

     “Okay, fine.” She acquiesced, swiping a hand at her eyes to dash away her tears. Carl and Sophia needed her, that meant no more crying.

     “We ran missing persons and we know the boy with you was most likely Carl Grimes,” He pulled a photo from his left breast pocket. “Can you ID him for us?”

     Beth looked at the photo. It was a dark haired boy sitting for what looked like a school photo. If she mentally put more hair on his head and a dirty t-shirt, he was most definitely the Carl she’d come to know the month before.

      “Yes, that’s him.”

      “Sophia was a little harder. There’s no file on anyone matching her description.” He produced another photo. “But, I have a hunch.”

      This one was a young girl, but instead of a school photo, it was candid. She’d clearly been caught unaware by the photographer, but her bright smile showed that she held some affection for the person. Her strawberry blond hair and freckles were distinctive and familiar. However, it was the doll clutched in her hands that clinched it. A small, rag doll with a hand-sewn face.

     “That’s Sophia.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            In the years he’d been sheriff, there was one thing he’d always hated doing. He could look a corpse in the eye without a twinge of disgust or even take down a dangerous suspect without a thought to what could happen to himself. But, when it came to children, his job hurt more often than it was heartwarming. Adults were all too often glad to victimize a child who was in the way or a target. He’d seen them abandoned, killed, tortured and beaten down to human husks.

      Sophia was no different. If his hunch was correct, the news of her status as a missing person was going to devastate her one loving and living parent while the rest of her relatives remained unimpressed.

      “Carol,” He tried to make his voice as gentle as possible. “I know this is going to be difficult—”

      The woman held up a hand to stop him, “If this is about Beth, I can tell you right now she’s telling the truth. She’s just fragile, it’s understandable given her situation. Remember how I was? God, I thought Ed would walk through that door at any moment and he was dead!”

       “Carol,” He tried again. “It’s not about Beth.”

       “It’s not…” Her voice trailed off with a bit of hiccup at the end. Then, her eyes widened. “Oh god, don’t tell me Ed’s family—”

       “No!” He recoiled at how harsh his voice sounded. “The Peletiers haven’t hurt Sophia.”

       Carol’s blue eyes began to water, “Good. I hate that she has to stay with them, but they’ve taken good care of her so far.”

       “How long has it been since you’ve heard from her?” Walt thought of the photo in his pocket. “I need to know exactly how long.”

       “Cady said I shouldn’t initiate contact, it’ll look bad in court, so Sophia has to do it.” The woman used a petite hand to card through her silver hair. “It hurts, but she calls me every month or so when she can.”

        “How long, Carol?”

        “About a month and five days.” She nodded in apparent frustration. “I shouldn’t keep track, I know. It just hurts less to count.”

       “Carol,” He knew his overuse of her first name was getting suspicious. Time to jump. “We…I believe your daughter was kidnapped and never reported missing.”

       “What the hell?” Carol huffed, nerves evident in her tone. “Walt, I respect you and I am grateful to you, but this is ridiculous. Martha Peletier would never—”

       “She did. Beth just identified your daughter as one of her missing companions.” He pulled the photo from his shirt pocket. “This is your Sophia, isn’t it?”

       Carol took the photo into both hands, cradling it. “Yes, that’s my Sophia.” A sniffle ripped through her words. “That’s her.”

       “Good, because we’re going to find her and bring her back.” He said with more confidence than he felt.

       “Do you really—”

       A rough voice interrupted Carol’s quiet one from the other room. “Sonofabitch! What the hell you tellin’ her now?!”

       “Dammit.” Walt muttered under his breath.

        Daryl Dixon was not an easy man to deal with and when Carol was involved, he’d move a mountain to make her happy again. Clearly, someone had informed Dixon that he was talking to the woman about her daughter. Probably Vic. Daryl could get under her skin like a splinter. Two sides of the same coin, he figured. Both bull-headed and trying to prove something where they didn’t need to while still being the most reliable people you’d ever meet.

     “Fuck you, Moretti!” He heard Daryl growl and then Vic’s answer of “No fucking thank you Dixon!”

       Carol wiped at her now free-flowing tears and laughed. Her small body shook. “I have to tell him sometime, might as well be after breaking up a fight.”

      “Looks like it.” Walt gave her a small smile and said, “I promise you, we will find her.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

            Vic could not understand why, after looking at these case files, they weren’t serving Dawn Lerner with a warrant for her arrest. The sheer amount of corruption and cruelty were enough in most cases to put away a person for life. The look Cady Longmire was giving her as she too read the available information, was not helping either. It was that which Vic had coined the ‘lawyer knows best’ look.

     “Walt, Amy Harrison was almost beaten to death, COD was a bullet to the head. Joan Martins was found decomposing in a lake, beaten, COD a bullet to the fucking head.” Vic pulled up a folder and shook it at the man. “We can tie them to Lerner. We’ve got Beth as witness to the whole kidnapping bullshit and in her initial statement she says Dawn threatened to beat her, shoot her in the head and then dump her in a lake.”

      She held up their newest folder, “The preliminary report on our John Doe matches what she said about Gorman. He had a severe head injury and he’d been shot twice. A dental ID will only take a few days.”

      “Vic,” Cady answered instead. “The DA isn’t going to see it that way. Witness testimony isn’t the conviction gold it used to be and for good reason. They just aren’t really that reliable.”

       “Walt?” Vic gritted her teeth, a move which she was sure probably provided a decent pissed-off frown. “Are you seriously hearing this bullshit?”

       To his credit, he did look like he was tempted to take her side. “She’s right, Vic. Beth didn’t actually see Amy or Joan die. Threats and stories aren’t proof. It’s circumstantial. Gorman’s up in the air until we get a positive second ID.”

       “But, it could start the ball rolling, right?” Vic asked.

        No answer from either of them for a few moments.

       “Who’s this guy,I keep seeing mentioned? He’s always in the suspected cover-ups in Lerner’s department.” Cady squinted at the papers in front of her. “Phillip…Blake. Who’s he?”

       “Some wannabe politician in the area. He likes Lerner, so he defends her when she’s in trouble.” Vic rolled her eyes.

       “He’s got enough clout in the community to do it.” Walt added.

        Vic snorted. “Clout? His family was killed in a house fire and they feel sorry for him. He’s been kind of weird ever since. He pretends they’re still alive and that he’s running for office.”

      “Family? Why does that seem—” She paused and appeared to be racking her brain. “Who all died?”

      “Don’t know.” Vic answered. She didn’t know where the naïve lawyer could be going. It might even be nowhere. Even so, she had a small amount of reluctant respect for her tenacity and odd sense of intuition. It was this respect that had her searching for Phillip Blake’s records on her laptop.

     She found an entry in the state’s records. “It was two kids around twelve, an eighteen year old girl and a woman in her mid-thirties.”

     “Don’t you notice anything odd about that?” Cady looked at both of them expectantly. When neither answered, she tossed her long brown hair and scoffed. “Andrea is 36, Beth is 19, Sophia is 11 and Carl is 12.”

      Vic looked to Walt for some kind of answer. “What?”

      “I think I get it.” He looked up from the papers in his hand. “Phillip Blake isn’t just pretending his family is alive, he’s replacing them.”

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            “Can you stay with me again?”

      It was a simple request and Tara found that the thought of doing so again wasn’t that bad. Nonetheless, she felt guilty. She shouldn’t enjoy someone needing her or use that need to assuage her guilt. On the other hand, she hadn’t seen Beth most of the day. Her plans of lunch and groceries had been quickly forgotten in the commotion.

      After the visit from her colleagues, she’d ordered takeout for lunch. Later, she’d completed some shopping that needed done. Both Beth and Carol had needed a breather after this afternoon. She’d missed Beth, as much as she disliked admitting it to herself. She had to find a compromise. A compromise which included her sleeping on the floor close enough to the bed to almost be under it.

      Thusly, Tara found herself dragging a pillow and blanket into the spare room. She dropped both items onto the gray shag carpeting. With a wince of embarrassment, she realized that the room’s décor really was a personification of her twelve-year-old niece. Why had she let Meghan decorate on her own? And, why was she letting Beth stay in some kid’s room?

      “Are you okay?” Beth asked.

      “Yeah,” She winced again, trying her best to look the other woman in the eyes without wincing again. “I should’ve lent you my room instead.”

      “Oh no.” Beth ran her fingers along the gauzy material of the canopy over the bed and gave her a reassuring smile. “I like it, it’s comfy.”

       Tara continued setting up her blanket and pillow on the floor in silence.

        “Are you sure about sleeping on the floor?” She heard Beth ask, a slight quaver to her words. “It looks kind of uncomfortable

       “Um…” Tara stalled. The floor was about as comfortable as her thrift store couch, but at least here she wouldn’t have to deal with that one pesky spring poking her in the back all night. Although it was better not to tell Beth that. She already felt guilty enough for the fibbing, the shameless cuddling and now her boss’s afternoon ambush. Might as well add another little white lie. “I think it’s comfy.”

      No response.

      “Uh, good night?” Tara cringed at her own words. She settled onto the floor, wrapping her blanket around herself.

       “Wait!” Beth’s voice held a tinge of panic. “Carol isn’t mad at me, is she?”

        Why would she think that? “No,” She wrapped her blanket closer around her body. “She’s just overwhelmed. Sophia being gone and Martha Peletier’s kind of a….” Tara struggled to find a good word that wasn’t rude, crude or nasty.

       “Bitch?!” Came Beth’s cheery answer. The word sounded odd coming out of her mouth, like a nun whose favorite was ‘fuck’.

      “Wow…I wasn’t going to go that route, but that works.” Tara found herself staring wide-eyed at the ceiling.

       A giggle. “I heard the man who lives with Carol shouting it earlier.” Another giggle. “I believe, his exact words were ‘ A fuckin’ crusty old bitch who’d sell her own damn soul if she thought she could spite you’”

      “Daryl?” She had decided against letting the crass man meet Beth earlier when she’d talked to Carol about stopping by the house. It was her assumption that her houseguest would be terrified of him. He was harmless, but he got riled real easy and even someone who knew him well could feel threatened, herself included. “Sorry about that. I didn’t realize you could hear him through the walls.”

     “He’s all bark, like a dog that’s been kicked too many times. Not like—” Beth paused. It sounded like she took in a sharp breath. Then she began again, sounding hopeful. “I’d like to meet him officially. Maybe we can go to see Carol to comfort her, maybe tomorrow?”

      Tara was about to ask her why she was asking like that since Carol could just come over. But then it hit her. Beth was afraid to ask her outright to go out of the house, not just to Carol’s. She could’ve slapped herself for not realizing earlier. “Y’know what? I get kind of antsy at home all day and I have the late shift tomorrow. We can do what I had planned today. Lunch and shopping for some necessities.”

      The barely suppressed squeal of excitement from above her made Tara smile.

      “Tara?”

      She tried and failed to stop her heavy eyelids from drooping. “Yeah?”

      “Do you think they’ll find Sophia, Carl and Andrea?”

      “I hope so.” Was all she could manage before her eyes shut for the night.


End file.
